Friday, October 28, 2011

Otherness

This week of articles and class discussions was a nice eye opener to connecting everything we've learned so far and relating it to our own terms. While reading these articles, Imaging Otherness in Ivory and Mami Wata Shrines, I tried to put myself in their respective time periods so it was easier to relate or understand the concept of the "others." Presently, we've all grown up knowing about most of the world, its peoples, cultures, religions and such. But we all know about these 'others' now because of explorers from way back when like we see explained in the articles. Both articles describe the concept of 'others' while showing the effect of interculturation into African visuals.

In the Imaging Otherness in Ivory article by Preston Blier, the word "other" describes the Portuguese that came to Africa, who had an effect on their cultures. For example, The Beni saltcellars depict Portuguese human figures with their white skin, long hair, mustaches, thin and such other features. In the Mami Wata article by Henry Drewal, "others" are featured as any foreigns from across the sea. This includes Europeans, Americans, and even Indians. Basically, anyone they don't know is foreign, or an "other."

Through these "others," African cultures have been influenced in their visual forms, also referred to our class word of interculturation. Blier talks about how the Portuguese are widely seen as a connection to the dead African ancestors because they have white pale skin, speak unintelligible language, possess higher technology and also come from across the ocean, which is a deeper meaning of the connection of the living and the dead. These ideas of connection to the dead are reflected in visual forms, like the cross symbol. In the Kongo, the spiral forms support the European view of transition, death, and life. In Beni, vessels like the saltcellars detail Portuguese features so prominently that it can date it itself. Portuguese figures are often shown in pairs, which also associate with Benin court officials and religious figures and are commonly displayed in active poses. The connection to Beni’s fish motifs supports the relationship of the Portuguese with movement, water and otherworldly realms. Blier links objects held by the Portuguese with their identity of power and prosperity including swords, lances, rifles, manillas, and books. In Sapi, early ivory carvings reference Portuguese foreign figures such as angels, unicorns, crosses, mermaids, lions, eagles and religious acts such as Virgin and Child.

As I talked about in our class discussion, I wondered where we would be if cultures weren't mixed or if we didn't learn from others. Europeans brought great technological advances to Africa and also brought back African cultural knowledge and visuals to the world. Although we as Americans have our own interpretation of other cultures, it is respectively better than nothing. As said by Drewal, "Museums may be windows on other worlds, but they are also mirrors reflecting their creators. By framing our view and directing our gaze, they influence what we see, how we see, and, therefore, what we understand." Another comparison I used to help understand it is by food. In America, we have, for example, Mexican restaurants but its an American version of mexican food and not actual food from Mexico or what Mexicans eat. I have actually been to Mexico several times so its always fun to compare and see the actual difference between the actual and the revised American way. This concept also goes for visual arts and other foreign influences.

Overall, interculturation is very effective in all countries around the world and allows us to learn more about everyone else and to expand our own knowledge. I see so many benefits that came from a bad or scary time but thats how life is and sometimes it takes awhile to see the good in the bad.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Vodou Connections

Vodou is a perfect way to bring alot of cultures and religions together.  It's religion is influenced by beliefs and practices from mainly West African peoples and Roman Catholics. It was created by African slaves who came from European Christian families and applied it to their new home in Haiti. Now the small country of mostly African slave influence practice Vodou in Haiti. This religion of Vodou relates to many things we've talked about in the African arts and practices like communication to the spirits/gods through masquerades, dances and music, and sacrificial practices.

After watching the Black in Latin America: Haiti & Dominican Republic movie, I could really begin to see the relations to African practices we have studied so far. When at a Vodou ceremony, the peoples become possessed by the spirits just like many African cultures do at a masquerade. When putting on a mask, that person becomes that figure and communicates to the audience around them the message of who or what that figure means and represents. This is very similar to the communication received through the godly spirits in Vodou when it takes over a person's body. Also similar to the masquerades, the ceremonies include meaningful music and dances.



Another similar way of communication to the spirits/Gods between Haitian Vodou religion and other African cultures is their sacrificial practices. While they have different performances of sacrificing, it has a similar concept. In the Vodou practices, they use birds, mainly chickens, to cleanse someone of bad or make peace to and then break their legs and also use their blood as an offering to the gods. At bigger ceremonies or at a new year, they also sacrifice a goat as an offering to the gods. In African cultures like the Dogon, the tellem ancestor figures and other shrine objects are sacrificial materials. Instead of killing a specific animal, sacrificial blood is used on specific tellem figures to communicate to the gods for certain request.
A chicken being sacrificed at a Vodou ceremony

After comparing many Vodou practices with different African cultures practices, I can really see the many African influences in the Haitian religion of Vodou. Now I am more curious on our American perception of voodoo and how or why the two get mixed up.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Yoruba


Spiritual Communication

The Yoruba culture is a very spiritual culture, centering its arts on the connection between real world and spiritual world. The ashe is a powerful spiritual life force and the energy of creation, which plays a big role in the Yoruba culture. Multiple Gods all referred to as Orisha also guide them. The spiritual world is reached through the babalawo, the diviner, and the Ifa, the divination. Through all of these aspects of the spiritual and life forces, many Yoruba visuals, like the calabash bowl and the performance of the divination, greatly reflect the communication between real world and spiritual world.

The calabash from Oyo represents the Yoruba cosmos, the aye and orun. This bowl is used for drinking, serving food and also to carry goods to sell at the market.  Its two halves, the bowl and the lid, link to the two parts of the Yoruba universe, aye and orun. The aye means the real, living world. This part of the world includes the knowledgeable ones, the living, the people and the unknowing or children.  So on this part of the calabash, images of women, priests, animals and such might be depicted. The other half is the orun, or the otherworld where Olodumare is the creator. This includes the spirits, Orishas, ancestors and the divination and depicts such gods as Ogun or spirit Oro and Iwin, not to mention the many other Orishas and spirits. The visual impact directly communicates the relationship between the real world and spiritual world. While the two halves can be separate, they are really not a whole until the two parts, or two worlds, are together as one.

Calabash

The Babalawo, the diviner, also connects to the spiritual world through performing an Ifa divination. A tray is used to carry out the communication between the babalawo and the Orisha. This tray, for example, is decorated with Eshu, the god of crossroads who brought together the world of real and spirit while he is bordered with the living motifs such as mothers, farmers and soldiers.  The babalawo performs the communication with the spirit world by chanting stories of the Orisha. He also uses palm nuts and a sculpted Ifa divination tapper to complete the spiritual performance.

Ifa divination tray

These two examples only begin to show the importance of the relationship between the real and spiritual world.  The two cosmos of the Yoruba universe go together like ying and yang. Not only does the Yoruba culture live by the connection between the real world and spiritual world, but also it is visually present in its communication and every day life.